Code MAXE
by Oddfrog27
Summary: Splintered off from X.A.N.A's old programming, its daughter program, M.A.X.E, becomes the newest threat to France and the Earth. Somehow, Odd adopted a new litter of Lyoko Warriors, and he became their...mentor? Also, how did he end up the only one who could deactivate the towers now? Wasn't he too old for this teenage superhero stuff? Whelp, better take the L and save the world!
1. Prologue

At the sight of a decrepit looking, familiar factory, a young teen ruffled his raven locks and nervously brushed grime from the tunnels off his figure, before tightly gripping the fraying rope before him. He gave a few experimental tugs, deeming the rope safe enough for the time being. Then he, along with his two companions, another teen his age with rich caramel colored hair, and another young lad, scaled down the ropes. Landing with a slight thud, he glanced up as one friend landed beside him while the other struggled a bit more before landing with a thump on his hands and knees.

The young lad grimaced while his friends snickered a bit at his misfortune.

"Oh ha ha." he stood stiffly, wiping down his hands and knees.

Still smirking a bit, the girl turned to her older friend, trying to avoid glancing around at her surroundings.

"Are you sure you want to look for spare parts here?" she whispered hesitantly. Her eyes darted around, seemingly waiting for something, anything to jump out at them.

Their footsteps echoed off the walls of the abandoned factory they'd discovered while on the hunt for spare robotics, the emptiness and obvious decay of the building casting an eerie feeling over the place.

"Yeah Leo. It looks like this factory's been abandoned for a while," the other young teen noted, swiping a finger over some nearby crates, grimacing at the grime now covering the digit. He looked around in disgust before ultimately deciding to wipe it down on his jeans. "Ugh, yuck. These were designer."

His nearest companion rolled her eyes.

"Oh please, you've obviously got the finances to replace them. Your designer jeans are always covered in various oils and dirt."

Before he could retort his other companion pointedly cut in.

"If we want to be able to complete our robot in time we need more parts. This competition is a kadic tradition and I for one do not want to miss it. I'm positive we can find something useful here. We don't exactly have the spare change to afford anything more advanced."

"Well Jurek does." the girl added with a grumble but sighed, and moving forward, began to rummage around in the piles of junk. Jurek didn't point out that she did as well considering the tense nature of her relationship with her parents.

"I should have stayed behind with Arubia," the other boy sighed as well before moving towards his friends to help them search.

The trio startled at the sudden _bang, bang, bang_ that appeared to be coming from the elevator shaft off to their right. Then, with a groan and a few creaks and pops, the pulley system activated, lifting the elevator to the level the trio stood on. The trio stood stock still, faces pailing.

"Do you hear that?" the multi-color haired boy asked, voice a choked whisper.

"Forget that! Do you see that?" The girl pointed, watching with wide, surprised eyes as the elevator appeared. "Who made that happen."

"Quick! Hide. Someone might be coming out." The three scurried behind a stack of crates watching the elevator wearily. But when it opened, and no one stepped out, the three exchanged nervous looks.

"W-what's going on?" the girls voice shook.

Instinctively, she grabbed hold of the nearest boy, who took hold of her with equal force. After another few minutes with no movement detected, Leo stood and gaped at the elevator.

"Fascinating! To think anything in this rundown facility would be operable-,"

"Fascinating! Fascinating! Try haunted," the girl hissed.

Leo looked back at his friends, eyebrows raising as they continued to cling to one another.

His staring caused the two to become aware of their position, the girl quickly pulling her hands from the other boy's and shoving him back slightly.

"Gosh Jurek, keep your hands to yourself!" she whisper-yelled.

Jurek held his hands up in confusion and slight indignation.

"What? You grabbed me!"

"Oh yeah, I'm sure that'll hold up real well against-,"

"Guys! Quit it!" Leo hissed.

"What are you doing?" the girl squeaked, watching Leo approaching the creaking elevator. It was still making worrying noises, settling after sudden and abrupt usage.

"Seeing where it leads," Leo answered.

"Are you crazy!" Jurek and the girl exclaimed together before covering the others mouth and looking around wildly.

"Nothing ventured nothing gained. Besides, I'm sure we could find useful mechanisms for our autonomous friend," he marched forward determinedly, shoulders almost touching his ears, arms bent and marching him forward exaggeratedly.

"He looks ridiculous," the girl deadpanned.

"Yeah, but since when is he the brave one and you chicken?"

"I am not chicken!" the girl glared, prompting Jurek to dart forward after Leo.

"Hey, bud, wait up."

"Oh, I_ know_ I am going to regret this," the girl threw her hands up in exasperation before following her dumbass friends.

She had a reputation to uphold as the tough member of the group, though she was also known for her cautious nature. This no nonsense girl didn't put up with anyone's crap but for some reason these two loons seemed to be the exception.

"C'mon Nicole!" Jurek yelled from his place in the elevator beside the slightly taller boy who was tinkering with the wiring, "the faster we get this over with the faster we can leave."

"Almost got it!" Leo exclaimed excitedly.

Nicole trudged forward standing between the boys as the elevator doors whirled to life and closed firmly behind her. She glanced around the rusty looking contraption as Leo continued to fiddle with the buttons.

"This is how people get murdered. We are officially the victims of a horror movie, oh I can't believe it," she groaned.

"There's nobody here," Jurek rationalized,"it's abandoned."

"Well you're certainly singing a different tune."

"Fear. Fear plays tricks on the mind."

"Uh-huh. Or Arubia's finally taught you to loosen up. I oughta thank that girlfriend of yours."

"She's not my girlfriend! I see being her roommate hasn't had the same effect," he drawled.

She shoved him, her usual glare in place. She nearly fell into him when the elevator gave another groan and shudder before beginning its descent.

"Figured out the controls?" Jurek questioned, trying to reorient himself after the shove and then the initial jolt.

Leo looked back at his friends, confusion and a slight bit of fear in his eyes.

"I regret to inform you that while I was attempting to rewire the controls I failed to locate the correct avenue before…"

"Before what?" Nicole yelled.

"It activated itself," he answered grimly.

Jurek groaned while Nicole began muttering to herself.

"It's moving on its own. Great, just great," she tightly grabbed a rail, "what have you idiots gotten me into?"

Leo looked slightly apologetic but also intrigued about where the elevator might be taking them. Nicole was now wishing that _she _had stayed behind.

"If we die, my little brother better not touch my stuff," Jurek growled.

"Really, that's what your worried about right now. The priority is getting out of here alive so I say whatever's on the other end of this door we rush it," Nicole said firmly.

They never got the chance to brace themselves unfortunately, as the elevator came to an abrupt halt, causing them all to stumble into one another.

"Ah, ow, Imma need aspirin after all this," she rubbed her head where she'd lightly hit it against the wall.

Electricity crackled off the door as it unlocked and then opened. Coughs rangout throughout the room as mist and steam from the outer room entered the elevator. Jurek swiped his hand in front of his face to clear the haze from his vision. Once he could open his eyes a little wider from where he was squinting them, he marvelled at the electronic cylinder rising from the floor. Once fully risen, a panel opened and a lever popped out.

"Well that screams trap if I've ever seen it," Nicole muttered breathlessly.

Despite Nicole's assessment of the room Leo was the first to step foot out of the elevator and into the dissipating fog.

Nicole threw her hands up in exasperation.

"Leo! Leo, I think we should leave! This seems a little too advanced even for us."

Nicole was bright; she understood certain technological concepts and was able to translate Leo's technobabble when he went on his rants. It came with the territory considering they'd known one another since they were toddlers. But she could not understand how such a marvel student could be such a dumbass in this very moment. Leo was their genius. He got good grades, he followed the rules, and apparently sometimes, like now, he got daring. Jurek was their mechanical expert. Both boys understood the ins and outs of machinery/auto mechanics but Leo preferred thinking up the blueprints and the theory behind their robotics while Jurek preferred to build them.

Whatever it was that they'd discovered here today was something far beyond the trio. They'd come here for spare parts but they'd never be able to handle a haunted factory.

"That's just it Nicole."

She grimaced. Leo's voice was laced with wonder, full of intrigue that suggested they wouldn't be leaving as quickly as she'd like.

"No, no, Leopold, no!" she protested. She practically pulled her hair out when Jurek quickly followed their friend but eased when the other boy began to pull him back.

"Nicole's right. We've gone far enough and clearly there's nothing salgevable here. Let's just go."

Leo went to pull his arm from Jurek's grasp but Jurek tightened his grip and stared his friend down. Leo cringed away from that stony look. Jurek clearly wasn't messing around anymore and he agreed with their female friend that they should leave. As the groups protector, Jurek took the safety of his friends very seriously. Nicole and Leo might have known each other longer but that didn't make Jurek any less their friend nor did it make him any less protective of them.

"Let's go," he said seriously.

Leo nodded, shocked at Jurek's fierceness. He closed his mouth and followed his friends lead. Jurek, noting Leo's compliance, let go of the brainiac and headed for the elevator.

Both boys were surprised however when the doors closed rather suddenly, trapping Nicole inside.

"Hey! Guys!" she yelled, rushing forward to slam her fists on the door. The elevator began to ascend.

"Great," Jurek sighed.

He looked around the room, noting no other accessible way out.

"Suppose we can learn to fly and jet up to the next floor through this hatchway up here?" he pointed up at a long narrow passage, far above their heads, that looked a bit like a deadly drop if they could even manage to reach it from their positions. Which they could not because they can't fly.

He looked behind him to gauge Leo's reaction only to find the boy hovering by the device.

"Hey, Leo! What are you doing? That elevator just kidnapped Nicole! Don't you think finding her is more important right now! Hello, earth to Leo."

"Hmm," the boy hummed distractedly, "Yeah, just a minute."

"No, not just a minute. Now. Leo, Seriously?"

"I just...I have this feeling that this console here houses all the answers. Questions we've been asking ourselves since the elevator first started moving on its own. It's a mainframe of some sort."

"Fascinating. Can we go?"

"Aren't you the least bit curious about what a sophisticated device such as this is doing housed in a rundown factory?"

"Uh, no?"

Leo shot him a look.

"Ok, a little bit, but what I'm more curious about is where that elevator took Nicole. We should be looking for her. Or have you forgotten that our friend was just kidnapped by inanimate machinery."

"Seeing as the elevator is operating on its own, I'd classify it as animated machinery. And it probably took her back up to the factory."

"I have to know for certain so if you want to stay here and analyze this computer thing, fine."

"And how exactly do you plan on splitting up without the use of the elevator?"

Jurek hadn't really been thinking about 'the how' when he'd stormed over to the elevator bay but he kept slamming his fist against the button anyway. It's not like he wanted to split up but the elevator had kind of made that choice for them. He didn't want to choose between keeping an eye on Leo and finding Nicole, either, which is why he wished the stubborn fool would come with him.

"Guys?"

Jurek's head snapped up, hearing the yell come from above.

"Nicole? You're alright! But where are you?"

"Uh, I'm not sure. The elevator seems to have taken me a few floors up so I tried to climb back down but I still can't seem to reach the floor you guys are on. You'll never believe what's up here."

Jurek looked back to Leo who looked intrigued by what Nicole had to say.

"I found a high-tech looking computer and the chair looks to be electronically operated as well but the whole rig seems to be deactivated. Same with these tall tube devices I've found on this level. I'm not even sure how to describe them. What is all this?" she wondered.

"We seem to have stumbled upon an electronic gold mine,"Jurek commented.

"And this must be the power source," Leo noted.

He reached out towards the handle, fingertips barely brushing it.

"Leo, no!" Jurek yelled, darting forward in attempt to slap his friends hand away.

But it was too late. With a firm grasp Leo pulled the lever. A white light erupted from the mechanism engulfing the whole room. Leo and Jurek had to cover their eyes from the sheer intensity.

Nicole, who had been inspecting one of metal canister looking devices, suddenly found herself trapped within one.

"Hey, what-; why does this keep happening to me?"

Before she knew it, she too was wrapped in intense light and a feeling of being tugged in all directions swarmed her. Her hair and clothes fluttered as a rush of wind and whirring buzzed around her, the machine booting up and activating.

"Jurreeeekkk!" she screamed before the device began to settle and the doors opened, nothing but fogged steam emitting from inside the canister. The scanner was empty.


	2. On the Case

Chapter 1: On the Case

'Trees. Building. Trees. More trees. Biker. Ooo he barely avoided running down that lady with the dog. Gosh this car ride is boring. That was the most interesting part of the last 40 minutes.' a young, mildly bored, 13 year old brunette thought as she watched the scenery fly by.

Despite her thoughts, she wasn't quite ready for the ride to end as the looming structure of Kadic Academy shadowed the taxi.

'Oh, here we go,' she sighed, learning her elbow against the door's armrest and placing her chin in her palm. It was as pretentious looking as it sounded. An academy! A bloody academy! Who in their right mind thought it was a good idea to send her to this place?

"I can't believe I left my friends for this."

Beside her, a blonde whose ridiculously pointed hairstyle was accented with purple tufts mid hairdo, shuffled over to gaze out the window. He leaned across his companion and smiled up at the familiar brown and beige stonework. Ah the memories!

"Hey now, no need to worry. You never know what secrets Kadic has hidden. The unexplainable happened everyday when I attended. Cause for some great adventures! You might even make friends," he teased.

While he was remembering the utterly catastrophic days of fighting X.A.N.A, all with a big dumb grin on his face, the tween beside him rolled her eyes.

"Oh please, not those fictional stories again. I stopped believing in Lyoko when I was six."

"So for half your life then? And all before you stopped believing in Santa Clause? Wow. I am offended. Lyoko is a much more believable place than the North Pole." The cheesy grin never left the blondes face as he eyed his niece with amusement glittering in his eyes. Even as she continued to deny that Lyoko was real, Odd remembered it fondly. Despite the terror it brought, risking their lives day in and day out, what Odd was most thankful for was how it brought his friends together. He never would have thought they'd lose contact (well he's lost contact with everyone except Willam, who he had frequent meme wars with on twitter, and Aelita, who never stopped playing the dutiful role of favorite cousin) but once they graduated and moved on...

Now here he was, at Kadic Academy, invited back for an assistant teaching position. 25, almost 26, and he was finally making headway in his career as an artist. He'd studied graphic design, videography, art history, painting, and music production, among others, and it had finally lead him to this moment. And not to toot his own horn or anything, but he crushed his student teaching gig, certifying him to be able to teach all things art and creativity to the young minds of Kadic Academy.

It would surprise some that he'd chosen this path, to be a teacher, an influencer, but he'd known in his heart that this felt right. He'd always had a special way of handling Milly and Tamia's problems. They looked up to him. Then he'd become the class rep, a position which no one suspected he'd take seriously, but he'd met that challenge and came out stronger. After that, in his final two years at Kadic, he'd decided to become a peer guide to the younger students, helping them adjust to life at the boarding school, where the work grew rougher as time advanced, and often, obviously, the older kids were bigger; scarier even. Moving up to this higher level of education could be a terrifying new experience for the young kids and Odd found he enjoyed spending time solving their problems, giving advice, and getting the opportunity to be the big brother some of them needed. As the youngest in his family, he'd never gotten to be the nurturer, the older sibling someone could count on.

Now, it all boiled down to this moment. He had a lot to thank his old art teacher for in getting here, as well as a surprisingly good friend he had kept in constant contact with; Elisabeth Delmas.

Hand placed firmly on his nieces lower back, supportively steadying her as he guided her through the gates of Kadic like he'd done for so many young students before her, the grin on his face never left. If he could take his present self through a return to the past trip to tell his younger self that one day he and Sissy would be thick as thieves...well his younger self might accuse him of being a polymorphic clone!

Sissy was here too, an assistant nurse, getting credit hours as she worked her way through nursing school. Considering Sissy's previous record with schooling, terrible much like his own, no one would have expected her to pursue nursing. The turn around had happened when Odd and the others befriended her. Jeremy, and on occasion Alieta, offered to tutor them both, as well as Ulrich. Sissy tapped into a caring, more nurturing part of herself she'd always tried to bury deep down inside and decided she wanted to help others.

Ulrich, before they had parted ways, hadn't been all that surprised that she'd picked up a passion for nursing, privately recalling the incident where she'd attended to his broken arm when they'd been trapped in the elevator together. Though Sissy obviously had no memories of this event, it was still a trait ingrained in her somewhere, finally awoken. She began to take her schooling more seriously knowing she needed better grades to even be considered for nursing. Her hard work paid off. She had been offered the opportunity to do a work study straight out of Kadic.

She deserved this and even better, they'd get to hang out in person more often. Odd wouldn't have to worry too much about not having peers here, knowing many of the teachers that resided here were still much older than him.

"Oh Uncle Odd, how did you get me into this?" Naomi whined.

Though she was upset by her current predicament she smirked a bit at Odd's grimace at the use of his title.

"Hey now, we are only like 13 years apart and I'm the fun uncle. As the fun uncle I reserve the right to have my title dropped. You call me Odd and I will respond when you do."

Naomi rolled her eyes.

"Besides, you'll love it here. And, well, I promised your mom I'd keep an eye on you after what happened at your last school."

This time Naomi grimaced. Her mother felt it better she had a 24/7 monitor to keep watch over her at school then let her be left to her own devices back in Italy.

"It was an accident," she protested.

"And it landed you here. With me," he countered, "But is it really so bad? Remember me? The fun uncle?" his grin widened.

Naomi conceded that it could be worse and with a sigh hitched her bag higher on her shoulder. If Odd hadn't been a teacher here her mother might have sent her to a reform school or something. Her uncles opportunity, his new start, turned into a fresh start for her as well. It was a life saver.

"Come on. Right this way."

Naomi dumped her duffle on the floor before flopping back on her bed.

By the grace of the gods, Odd being a teacher here and Ms. Delmas his friend, Naomi was awarded a single room. No bunk mate. No instant friend. As she stared at the ceiling, thinking maybe having no roommate wasn't all that good a thing, she sighed.

"This is going to be one dry year."

XXXXXXXXXX-XXXXXXXXXX

After having a day to settle in, Naomi shuffled into her science class with minutes to spare, nabbing the only seat left next to a tan, burgundy headed boy. He barely glanced over at her, focused so intently on his sketch as he was.

"Shouldn't you be saving that for art class?" she whispered curiously.

He still didn't glance up, busy switching from one shade of red colored pencil to the other.

"When inspiration hits one must strike upon it," he answered.

"Okay," she dragged out the y and watched as he intently continued to color. Managing to tear her eyes away from the intriguing artist to the front of the room, she watched as the teacher strode in and picked up a ruler, slapping the board with it to draw the attention of the class.

"Settle down, class, settle down!"

Naomi could tell she wouldn't get away with slacking in this class at the sound of the teacher's no nonsense tone.

"My name is Mrs. Hertz."

Naomi blinked.

"Oh wow! She still teaches here?"

Namoi could remember all the horror stories Odd told her of his 'favorite' teacher Mrs. Hertz.

"You know her? Aren't you new?"

She glanced to the side, noting the boy beside her was finally glancing her way.

"No, not personally. My Uncle used to go here. I've uh," she snickered, "heard the stories."

Her desk mate joined in her mirth.

"I bet they're nothing compared to the actual experience," he joked.

"Not her favorite student?"

"Hardly."

They shared another light chuckle at his expense.

"Rubin! Naomi! Pay attention!"

They both jolted in their seats, spines straightening, eyes wide.

"Sorry Ma'am," they both apologized.

"Guess that saves us the trouble of introductions," Rubin noted.

"Guess so."

XXXXXXXXXX-XXXXXXXXXX

Once the bell freed them of the torture that was class, Naomi popped down from her seat and grabbed her bag, intending to shuffle out with the rest of her quickly retreating classmates. Instead she hesitated by her stool. Though there interaction had been short she was sure that Rubin wouldn't be a bad friend to have.

Then again, they barely knew each other. Would their casual camaraderie in class be enough to bloom a friendship? She shrugged to herself. She knew loads of friendships that had started on less.

After having gathered his art supplies Rubin turned and noticed Naomi lost in thought. He grinned when she visibly shrugged without having verbally said anything.

"Looking for company?" he questioned.

She blushed.

"That obvious?" without waiting for his answer she continued on, "Uh, yeah, you know, s'like you said. I'm new," she ramled.

"What's your next class?"

"Uhhhh," she glanced at her schedule, "History."

"With Devoe? You're in luck. I have that next too."

She grinned in relief.

They quickly raced to said class realizing they'd been standing around too long and the next bell was sure to ring any minute.

As they settled into their seats Rubin glanced over at the brunette.

"Not to sound weird but can I paint you? Well draw first I guess. You have a lovely smile and I'd love to capture it. Like I said, when that inspiration strikes-," he cut himself off knowing she'd understand the rest.

Her grin never faltered but her cheeks heated up.

"That is totally weird."

"Sorry."

He really didn't sound sorry. Her blush deepened.

"Uh, yeah, sure, I mean, that's cool, sure, go ahead."

Damn, why was she rambling so much?

"But history first?"

She grimaced.

"If we must."

XXXXXXXXXX-XXXXXXXXXX

"After you M'lady." Rubin gestured for the brunette to lead the way to the courtyard.

They had a free period before lunch and Rubin decided to set up his canvas so he could start on his newest inspiration ASAP. Naomi was perched on a bench under a tree, a favorite spot of his, and one Naomi recognized from pictures of her uncle and his friends.

Naomi was observing the campus and the meandering students. She noticed a few lost looking students, kids younger than her, 6th graders probably. Several cliques were hanging about, laughing, or quietly studying. A loner kid reading a book under the shade of a tree. Then she glanced more directly to the side of her and noticed a MISSING poster posted to a tree nearby. Having a curious nature she hopped up to inspect it.

A carmel haired brunette with a healthy tan stared back at her. She was wearing a green cardigan and an olive green under shirt. The mysterious girl was sporting a reluctant smile, clearly appeasing whoever was behind the camera.

"Well this looks out of place on such a secure campus. Who was she?"

Rubin glanced up from his paints and eyed the photo.

"Nicole. She went missing about two weeks ago. My sister, her roommate, has been searching frantically for her ever since. She took that photo you know."

"Your sisters a photographer?"

And maybe that wasn't the right question to ask after having learnt about a missing girl. A student at her school no less. Hadn't her mother and uncle promised she'd be safe here?

"We're artsy kids. I paint and draw, she photographs and writes. Wants to be a journalist who provides her own candids."

"What do they think happened to the girl?"

"Well," he began as he started to fiddle with his canvas again, "they're claiming runaway though some of the kids have an even crazier conspiracy. Drowning. Though where she'd drown here is a little unclear. Something about some water under an old bridge, I dunno. The two kids who were with her when she vanished have given their statement but…"

She glanced back at him curiously from the photo she'd been studying at the sound of his hesitation.

"But what?"

"Their story sounds crazy, impossible even. The cops don't believe them, her parents are concerned and angered by their "fictional tale", and the kids around here keep coming up with more and more ridiculous conclusions about what really happened that night."

"So, why are they crazy?"

"Cops are citing it was trauma. Said they made up some unbelievable story to cope with what they witnessed. The only conclusion the police could make out for sure was that she was nabbed."

"By who?"

"Dunno. The running theory had been someone who was stalking the abandoned factory across the way. It's off limits. They're lucky to not have been expelled. I guess they're lucky to still be here," he sighed, "anyway, since the cops couldn't find any evidence of a perpetrator they changed their theory to runaway. Which brings us full circle."

Naomi looked off to the side.

"Not quite. What's their story?"

"Why does that matter?"

She gave him an unimpressed look.

"Because it does."

Rubin eyed her oddly. When Naomi refused to budge he sighed again and began to twirl his paintbrush between his fingers, biting his lip as he thought over his next words.

"They claim the factory basically came to life or something. The elevator began to move on its own, forced them downstairs, and some weird babbling about a, a supercomputer?"

One perfectly shaped eyebrow rose, eyes squinting in confusion. Rubin shrugged in response.

"It's...I don't have all the details. My sisters friends refuse to talk about it now. Anyway, when the cops went to check the place out they couldn't even get the elevator to spark. They discredited the story and now Nicole's picture is all over town."

"The guys involved were your sisters friends too?"

"Yup, all three of them were, uh, are. Jurek is such a serious guy too. Honestly, I can't believe he'd ever come up with such a ridiculous story, coping method or no. But his friend, the other guy involved, it's not like him to tell stories either."

"Then don't you think it's worth finding out if something else is going on? If they're not liars then they must not be lying."

"What are you implying? The story's crazy right? No way that could have happened!"

"There's only one way to find out" she smirked.

Rubin blinked in confusion then felt a light sweat break out over his skin. He gulped.

"You're not seriously suggesting-,"

XXXXXXXXXX-XXXXXXXXXX

"This is insane. I am _not _going in there. Nope, not gonna happen."

"Don't be such a scaredy cat."

"Wishing I was at home cuddling with my cat. At least they have a self preservation instinct."

Both were glancing up at the dark, drab exterior of the factory before them, staring into the recesses of the pitch black interior. It was easy to tell why the factory was abandoned and condemned by its decrepit appearance. Most of the windows had been blown out, were cracked, and had lost any shine long ago. Mold and mildew permeated the air and there was a mossy substance creeping up the sides of the factory.

"We have to go in. Maybe whoever has that girl is holding her down there and we could be the only people who have a chance of saving her."

"What do you think this is, a superhero movie? And why do you care?" Rubin asks exasperatingly, "You don't even know her. Also, how can we possibly be the only people who have a chance of saving some girl from kadic knows what?"

"C'mon Rue. We can solve this mystery. I know we can."

He blinked in surprise at the nickname but didn't let it deter him in the face of the crazy she was spewing. He'd mull over it more in great detail after they were far, far away from this mess.

"Ok great, we're not superheroes, apparently you think we're mystery incorporated! I bet if we go down there we get hogtied and captured ourselves!"

"Down we go!" Naomi grabbed hold of the rope before her and slid down, wobbling slightly as she landed on the concrete with a clack.

"Are you insane! Oi, why am I even asking, you have to be after what you just did."

He grabbed the rope before looking up at the factory ceiling and praying to a force he wasn't quite sure he believed in.

"I know mom said I needed to make more friends but somehow I don't think what she meant was to follow some girl I just met to my doom."

"Are you coming or what? Where's your sense of adventure?" she yelled up at him, grinning brightly.

Sighing dramatically, he slid down the rope after his new, crazy friend.

"If we survive this-,"

"We'll have formed the bond of a lifetime. No going back now bud!" she slapped him playfully on the shoulder. After she turned away he grabbed his arm and winced. Who was this girl?

"Hey Rue! This the elevator?" she pointed to a big, hulking elevator shaft with no actual elevator cabin in sight.

"Yeah, but like I said, the cops couldn't get it working. No elevator, no story ya know? Made her friends look crazy. Whatever's down there, there's no way of getting to it."

"No way that they bothered looking for. We however, are here to solve a mystery!" Looking as far as she could see in the dim lighting, down dreary halls, and past rusted beams, Naomi hummed. "And there must be a staircase around here somewhere. At least a ladder maybe?"

"You want to wander through the creepy, abandoned factory, where a girl was possibly kidnapped, maybe even murdered, in order to find another way down?"

Naomi had started walking further back into the factory but turned and shot her signature bright grin at him. He realized in that moment that he would never even get to finish his painting of that smile before he died. She threw her hands up in a 'why not' gesture.

"Yeah, don't you?"

He shook his head furiously.

"Oh stop being so dramatic. You're an artist not a drama kid!"

Rubin bit his lip, looked at the elevator, and then at the girls retreating back.

"Alright! But I'll have you know that I _am_ in drama club and I am quite the actor!"

"I can tell drama queen!" she teased.

He loathed to admit he was intrigued by the situation, that he really did want to know the truth; the truth behind this quirky girl he was following and behind what happened to his sister's roommate.

Before either could travel too far, a whirring sound echoed from the shaft and throughout the factory.

"Do you...hear that?" Gods above did Rubin hope she didn't hear that.

"Yeah, It-It's getting louder."

The whirring began to sound a little deafening and a mechanical creaking began to follow the sound of the running belts.

"I think the elevator is rising," Naomi breathed in disbelief.

"Oh you have got to be kidding me," Nathaniel gulped, "This place really is haunted."

"Haunted?" Naomi whisper-shrieked.

"Well, that's what some of the students claimed."

"Well you might have mentioned that before!"

"I didn't believe them! Ghosts aren't real! That's just-,"

"If you say crazy one more time-,"

She slapped her hand over his mouth and pulled him down behind some crates as they observed the rising elevator. What surprised them both the most was what came out of the elevator. Rubin's eyes narrowed as two boys, one with short dark hair and another with longer multi-colored locks, exited the elevator, whispering hurriedly among themselves.

"Humans? Well, I suppose that makes sense. Why would it be ghosts. Phew." Naomi's disbelief and relief at the sight of the two boys echoed Rubin's own feelings. He also felt rising ire, however.

"They're the two boys from my story. The one's the cops didn't believe."

"So, what, this is all a hoax?"

"Looks like, which is odd. Never took either for practical jokesters. More my speed."

"Mine too." How could it not be with the prank wars her mother, aunts, and uncle participated in over the years. Well, her mother kind of grew out of it but Naomi was more like her uncle anyway.

"I'm gonna kill em. This joke is so not funny."

"I'll help. Detectives Nao and Rue on the case!"

They rushed out from behind the crates and marched over in hopes of blindsiding the boys before they could escape. Luckily, they hadn't been noticed. That is, until Rubin accidentally walked himself into some other crates which he was promptly bounced off of. Naomi winced.

The two stopped their conversing, heads whipping over to the commotion. Before they could utter words Naomi went in for the kill.

"Well, well. Looks like we've solved the case! Everyone's gonna love the conclusion to this mystery. Three junior high students, attending the prestigious Kadic Academy, create big fat hoax." She waved her hands to emphasize her highlighting the title across the open air."

The boys look stunned, though the colorful haired one still managed to utter a lame response.

"Technically we're in the 9th grade now." School had just begun, with the girl having gone missing over the course of a work-study summer program the three had been attending before the official school year started.

Rubin grit his teeth, rushing forward to grip Jurek's collar in his fist.

"Do you think this is some type of joke Jurek? My sister, Nikki's parents, hell the whole school, are worried _sick _about her!"

"Get off me man!" Jurek slapped Rue's hands away.

"Where is she?" he hissed.

"We don't know!" Jurek growled back.

While those two got lost in their angry stare down, Naomi turned to the remaining boy and eyed him up.

"Where is she?"

He sighed.

"You wouldn't believe us. No one believes us."

"Try me."

The boy waved his hand in front of Jurek causing him to back down. He gestured to the elevator.

"I'll have to show you."

Naomi and Rubin eyed the elevator skeptically.

"You wanted an adventure," Rubin noted, "Nao and Rue on the case you said?" He started off after Jurek, the two acting like they hadn't been moments away from a brawl. The other boy, who introduced himself as Leo, waited for her to enter before following the lot of them in.

"What am I doing," Naomi breathed, "She's not dead right? Please tell me you aren't leading us to a corpse," she begged. Because why the hell did they so easily decide to follow these two?

"Technically we can't find her physical body at all," Jurek reassured.

"Technically? Physical body? Ah jeez, we are dealing with ghosts," Rubin fretted.

"Technically," Leo interjected, "what Jurek said isn't correct; you know, about us not knowing where she is."

"So where is she?"

"We aren't sure."

Rubin blinked.

"Isn't that the same as we don't know?"

"Not quite. We do know where she is, we just don't know exactly_ where _ she is. We've been speaking with her. Through this."

The elevator's doors opened at that exact moment and the two unfamiliar with the area gaped in awe at the sight of the highly advanced supercomputer before them.

"We cannot seem to pinpoint where she's speaking from. Far as I can tell, she's inside the computer."

"We have just walked into the plot of a sci-fi movie," Rue said to Naomi as he spun round and round, taking it all in.

They both stopped just before the screens of the computer, gazing at the programming and coding they couldn't begin to understand.

"Is that...a map?" Rue looked back at Leo questioningly.

"Yes, just not of any surrounding area we would be familiar with. This, this is a space known as Lyoko."

"Lyoko? Where's that? Japan?"

"Lyoko?" Naomi whispered under her breath, feeling a tight coil in her stomach at the familiar name. Ok, was she going to stumble upon the north pole next? Her uncle's stories couldn't possibly be true!

"It appears to be virtual space," Leo answered.

"Virtual? What, like she's stuck in a video game? Like it's jumanji?"

"I suppose it could be thought of in that way."

The computer suddenly made a noise, a blue loading bar appearing before a seperate window screen popped up.

"Hello? Guys? What are you doing back so soon? I thought you were headed up for dinner."

Rubin stumbled back, unintentionally dragging Naomi, who'd tightly gripped his arm, with him.

Leo rushed forward, grabbing a headset and seating himself before the computer.

"Nicole? Hey, are you alright?"

"Still bored. Seriously though, I wasn't expecting you back so soon."

Jurek placed a hand on the back of Leo's chair and leant forward, hoping Nicole would pick up on his voice through the mic.

"Yeah, we uh, ran into a little problem. Two little problems."

"Problem? Oh great, what else could go wrong?"

Off to the side, the two newbies narrowed their eyes.

"Little? Just because they're a year older than us doesn't mean we're little!"

"It's a super advanced computer and it couldn't come with a bluetooth headset?"

Naomi smacked him lightly on the chest.

"I don't think that's the point! There's a girl _stuck _in a _computer!_"Naomi's voice held a hint of awe. Shock and slight fear too, but mostly awe.

"Oh, yeah, right. I cannot believe this is happening."

"I thought you were all in to this fantasy/sci-fi stuff?"

"How would you know? We just met."

"You look the type."

He tried very hard to _not _look offended by that, even if it was true.

Back at the computer, Leo was cautiously typing code into the computer, hoping to retrieve more data on this virtual world and get some answers on how to rescue his friend.

"So, what kind of problem are we dealing with? More roadblocks on how to get me off this world?" Nicole asked irritably.

Jurek looked over his shoulder at the two having a frantic, whispered conversation, wild gesticulations and everything.

"We stumbled upon Arubia's little brother Rubin and some new girl upstairs in the factory."

"And you brought them down?"

"Rubin wasn't really giving us much choice. We've known him since he was a twiggy little 5th grader, always following Arubia around and trying to hang with us, but I've never seen him lose his chill like that before."

"Arubia _is_ his sister and she's never stopped trying to figure out what happened to you. Clearly, he wouldn't budge for his sister's sake."

"So now what? I mean, if you were going to bring in reinforcements why not Arubia? Why let Rubin in on the secret and not her? She's our friend. Doesn't she deserve to know the truth?"

"Yeah, maybe," Jurek sighed. Arubia _did _deserve to know. They just weren't sure how she'd handle the truth. She'd always been the friend with the heightened emotions; very intune with her inner being, she'd always say.

Rubin stepped forward.

"I can't believe I'm even suggesting this-; if we can't bring her out...can you put us in?"

The group gaped at him in surprise.

"So we've moved on to the plot of the matrix?" Naomi asked him casually.

"Maybe if more of us are working together on this from the inside, we can find a way out."

"We're not even sure how she got put there!" Jurek exploded, gripping the roots of his hair in frustration, "and you want to put us all in danger by going in? You and this new chick should just pretend this never happened. Pretend you never saw any of this, go home," he sighed, despondent, "Nobody else needs to be put in danger."

"Hey! I have a name!" Naomi butted in before Rubin could deliver an equally heated response, "And I also believe I'm here for a reason. So no, I won't just go home."

Neither boy said anything further nor did they back down from their intense staring contest.

"Gosh, how do you guys even stand to be in the same room, you're always fighting."

"They weren't always like this," Leo offered up, "I mean sure, they've never been the best of friends, but I've found that ever since we discovered this factory our emotions appear to be heightened. We're more easily prone to anger, judgement, lots of negative feelings really."

"Are you saying we're all acting unusual? I feel fine. You don't seem all that angry either. More melancholy really."

"Which is a negative emotion, I render. There must be something about you that feels off."

"Well I'm not hungry," she noted offhandedly, "and trust me, I have an appetite to rival my uncles," She grinned fondly. She really was so much like him. With all the extra time they'd be spending together here at Kadic, her mom might not like the girl who comes home for a visit. Oh what sweet revenge that would be for shipping her off in the first place.

"Ok, I see your point. I just had a dark, vengeful thought, and it had no relation to my usual notorious pranking habits."

"Anything else?"

"I'm acting more rational than impulsive?"

Rubin snorted.

"You don't call investigating an abandoned factory to uncover secrets about a missing student who you've never even met personally, impulsive?" He sassed.

Instead of sassing him back she let it go, which again, was unusual for a gal like her.

"He is not usually this sassy, that's for sure."

"How would you know! We've just met!"

"It's true. He's always been a bit of a lighthearted jokester. Less sass, more teasing," Leo noted.

"And I am usually bouncing off the walls by now. Like I said, impulsive. I'm not usually good at this waiting around to take action stuff. I don't wait for the explanation, I just go for it, no questions asked. So, what else if off about you?"

"Later. Right now, Nicole needs us."

"Us?" she questioned, eyebrows raised.

"All of us," Leo answered with a sudden surge of confidence he usually could not place within himself. Perhaps not all of their unusual emotions were negativity based. "I will deduce a way to transport the three of you to this Lyoko, whatever the cost."


End file.
